Wouldn't it be nice...

 to be here...

drinking one of these...

while wearing this.

Just dreaming over here. Just for minute close your eyes, and imagine the smell of the ocean and the feeling of sand blowing across your skin. Wasn't that nice?
I have a panama hat that would be killer with the suit. All I have to do is find a body of water to wear it to... and some warmer weather. Soon enough.

A Few More...

... pics. from our statycation via our iPhones. 

She Bakes

Dark Chocolate Tart with Toasted Almonds & Sea Salt 

Adapted from Bon Appetit 

Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

1/4cup plus 1 TBsp. powdered sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg yolk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling and Garnish:

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used 72%)

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 heavy cream

2 ounces almonds, chopped and toasted

1 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:

Crust:

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a small bowl. Pulse powdered sugar and butter in a food processor until smooth. Add yolk and vanilla; pulse to mix well. Add dry ingredients and pulse just to blend. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Spray 4.75 inch tart pans with nonstick spray. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1/8" thickness. Peel off top sheet of paper. Cut dough into rounds. Gather scraps; repeat until all dough is used. Transfer rounds to tart pans, pressing gently onto bottom and up sides of cup. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°. Bake tart shells until slightly puffed and firm to touch, 12–15 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Filling and Garnish:

Place both chocolates in a medium bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Let ganache cool to room temperature. 

Spoon ganache into tart pans and sprinkle garnish on top. 

This was a huge hit! My mister even said "this might be the best thing you've ever made." Woah! It takes a little patience, but is so worth the wait. Also, you could definitely use this recipe for a normal 9 inch tart pan.

Joyeux cuisson!

PS- it's also pretty simple.

Staycation

Life has a way of coming full circle, and our staycation in DC really felt like that. We talked about how we would have felt on our honeymoon three years ago if we had known that we would call DC home. I think I would have been too excited to think about anything else.  Previous posts featuring White House poses here and here . In case you were wondering: my dress is Suzi Chin, the view is at the 

W Washington Hotel  and we enjoyed a delicious brunch at The Hamilton. 

What I See

A Few...

IPhone pics. from inauguration and our week of winter. It was a fun week, with an even more fun weekend! Pictures from our staycation coming soon! I'm enjoying a surprise day off because of the ice storm in the area, woohoo!

Happy Monday! 

SNOW!

On Thursday morning we woke up and Jack Frost had paid us a visit. Although it wasn't enough for a full on snow day, it was (and still is) so fun! It really does make everything so beautiful, and I'm so excited we finally got our snow!